Vita Software Update 1.61 Hits

Call me an oddball, but I get a strange satisfaction from completing system updates.

They imply the system–whatever it is–is now fully updated and fully operational. There's an element of psychological security there, at least for me and my pseudo-compulsive need for order.

This brings us to today's news of the PS Vita's Software Update 1.61, which adds the following bits of content to your shiny new handheld.

• A new application, 'Maps', has been added to the home screen.
• You can now take videos using the Photo application.
• You can now publish stories about the products you rate in PlayStation Store to Facebook.
• In near, players’ information is now displayed on the Discoveries screen. On this screen, a list of the online IDs of up to 100 players that you have encountered, and the number of times that you encountered each player, are displayed. Tap an online ID to display that player’s profile screen.
• The Mac OS version of Content Manager Assistant for PlayStation has been released. The Windows version has also been updated.

The PlayStation Blog also tells us that if you've already updated your Vita to software version 1.60, today's 1.61 update will improve certain aspects of the system software, though they don't get into detail.

One way of updating the firmware on your Vita: Select “System Update” under the “Settings” menu and download the firmware directly to your PS Vita over Wi-Fi.

Alternatively, you can connect your Vita to a PS3 or a Mac/PC and update via Content Manager.

Once you've updated, it's time to play. If you're wondering what's just been released today for the Vita (or last week), we've got you covered.